The use of carpets for floor coverings has greatly increased in recent years and the need for economical and efficient means for cleaning, especially by the home owner, has increased simultaneously. This need has resulted in the development of foam type carpet cleaners which either do not produce foam in an efficient manner or produce a foam that is too wet with the result that the cleaned carpet requires an extended drying time.
For instance, French Pat. No. 2,031,395 produces a foam by means of an air bubbler 14 immersed in a mixture of detergent and water, bubbles from which rise through the mixture to produce a foam at the surface thereof which is blown onto a carpet beater roller 23 which applies the foam to the carpet which is then brushed by brushes 24 and twenty five.
U. S. Pat. No. 3,843,989 describes another system in which the mixture of water and detergent is applied to a sponge covered roller 11 and a brush 14 brushes the mixture off the roller and onto the carpet. The action of brushing the sponge produces the foam in this instance.
Neither of the above two patented systems produces a dry foam since the foam forming processes used are not efficient and an unacceptable wetting of the carpet occurs.
A device to overcome this defect is illustrated in the present applicant's prior Canadian Pat. No. 924,064 wherein the foam producing means is constituted by a venturi-jet system for breaking up the water detergent mixture into fine droplets which are blown through a fine screen to produce a relatively dry foam which is applied to the carpet for cleaning by, for instance, a standard rug vacuum-beater system.